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USDA Confirms Highly Pathogenic

Avian Influenza in Backyard NonPoultry Flock in West Virginia

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Stakeholder Announcement
Contacts:

APHISpress@usda.gov

WASHINGTON, February 20, 2024 – The United States Department of Agriculture’s

(USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the

presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a non-commercial backyard

flock (non-poultry) in Kanawha County, West Virginia. This is the first case of HPAI in

domestic birds in West Virginia during this outbreak, which began in February 2022.

Samples from the flock were tested at the Moorefield Animal Health Diagnostic

Laboratory, part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and confirmed at

the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.

APHIS is working closely with state animal health officials in West Virginia on a joint

incident response.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the public

health risk associated with these avian influenza detections in birds remains low. As

a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of all poultry and eggs to an internal

temperature of 165  ̊F is recommended as a general food safety precaution.

As part of existing avian influenza response plans, Federal and State partners are

working jointly on additional surveillance and testing in areas around the affected

flock. The United States has the strongest AI surveillance program in the world, and

USDA is working with its partners to actively look for the disease in commercial

poultry operations, live bird markets and in migratory wild bird populations.

Anyone involved with poultry production from the small backyard to the large

commercial producer should review their biosecurity activities to assure the health

of their birds. APHIS has materials about biosecurity, including videos, checklists,

and a toolkit available at:

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-diseaseinformation/avian/defend-the-flock-program/dtf-resources/dtf-resources.

USDA will report these findings to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)

as well as international trading partners. USDA also continues to communicate with

trading partners to encourage adherence to WOAH standards and minimize trade

impacts. WOAH trade guidelines call on countries to base trade restrictions on sound

science and, whenever possible, limit restrictions to those animals and animal
products within a defined region that pose a risk of spreading disease of concern.

WOAH trade guidelines also call on member countries to not impose bans on the

international trade of poultry commodities in response to notifications in nonpoultry.

APHIS will continue to announce the first case of HPAI in commercial and backyard

flocks detected in a State but will not announce subsequent detections in the State.

All cases in commercial and backyard flocks will be listed on the APHIS website at

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-diseaseinformation/avian/avian-influenza/2022-hpai.

In addition to practicing good biosecurity, all bird owners should prevent contact

between their birds and wild birds and report sick birds or unusual bird deaths to

State/Federal officials, either through their state veterinarian or through APHIS’ tollfree number at 1-866-536-7593. APHIS urges producers to consider bringing birds

indoors when possible to further prevent exposures. The Animal Health Protection

Act authorizes APHIS to provide indemnity payments to producers for birds and eggs

that must be depopulated during a disease response. APHIS also provides

compensation for disposal activities and virus elimination activities. Additional

information on biosecurity for backyard flocks can be found at

http://healthybirds.aphis.usda.gov.

Additional background

Avian influenza (AI) is caused by an influenza type A virus which can infect poultry

(such as chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, domestic ducks, geese, and guinea

fowl) and is carried by free flying waterfowl such as ducks, geese and shorebirds. AI

viruses are classified by a combination of two groups of proteins: hemagglutinin or

“H” proteins, of which there are 16 (H1–H16), and neuraminidase or “N” proteins, of

which there are 9 (N1–N9). Many different combinations of “H” and “N” proteins are

possible. Each combination is considered a different subtype and can be further

broken down into different strains which circulate within flyways/geographic regions.

AI viruses are further classified by their pathogenicity (low or high)—the ability of a

particular virus strain to produce disease in domestic poultry.